Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to introduce a waiting times standard for eating disorders. We are clear in our engagement with NHS Boards that patients should be assessed according to their clinical need. Our expectation is that those who need immediate necessary treatment, whether for an eating disorder or for any condition or disorder requiring access to mental health services, will receive that care quickly. We expect Boards to ensure that their services are planned efficiently so that patients have swift and safe access to the full range of services they need.

 A review of the ECHO peer coaching service will be undertaken in 2021, with a full evaluation being undertaken in 2022 by the University of Edinburgh.

We will finalise publication arrangements of these reviews in due course.

Information is not centrally held on numbers treated by the NHS for an eating disorder. However, Information Services Division (ISD) holds information on inpatients admitted with an eating disorders diagnosis.

Table 1. Number of inpatients admitted with eating disorder diagnosis 1 by health board of treatment, 2013 - 2018.

The Scottish Government is not aware of an eating disorder support service called SPIRE.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-27297 on 4 March 2020 which outlines the numbers of people who have been admitted with an eating disorder diagnosis1 by health board of treatment, per year (January- December) 2013 - 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Comparison per head of population between Scotland, England and Wales is provided in the following table.

Comparison of admissions to Scotland, England and Wales for people with an eating disorder diagnosis per 100,000 for Financial Year 2018-19.

ISD collects information on patients who are admitted to hospital for psychiatric inpatient care. People who are admitted with an eating disorder are included in this dataset and can be identified. Work is underway to collect patient level data from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Psychological Therapy Services. This dataset will identify the reason and diagnosis of individuals, including if they have an eating disorder. This new dataset is at an early stage of development and ISD are working with NHS Boards to improve the data quality.

The Scottish Government is clear in our engagement with NHS Boards that patients should be assessed according to their clinical need. Our expectation is that those who need immediate necessary treatment, whether for an eating disorder or for any condition or disorder requiring access to mental health services, will receive that care quickly and in line with clinical guidance. We expect Boards to ensure that their services are planned efficiently so that patients have swift and safe access to the full range of services they need.

The following table shows the numbers of eating disorder specialists in Scotland broken down by Health Board. These figures have been taken from the NHS Staff Census which was conducted on the 30 September 2019.

In Scotland, a range of eating disorder services and treatment is provided in line with clinical good practice across community, primary care and specialist services for children and young people. The vast majority of people with eating disorders will be treated in the community, with support provided by primary care or community mental health teams and with support links to specialist hospital or voluntary sector care where appropriate.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

Since the launch of the ECHO peer coaching service during Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2019 there have been 188 hours of support provided to parents and carers of those with an eating disorder. The service has supported 20 parents and carers since February 2019.